same route, different me

I’m feeling better all the time. However, the Tor doesn’t care. Here’s a classic: I’m feeling pretty good all week, good shedding on Wednesday, campused for the first time in a long time, warmed up strong on Power, and thought ‘I’m feeling so rad, I’ll crank Chips then, since I’ll probably feel so remarkably mega-strong, maybe think about getting on Better Than Life‘. We call this “Tuesday thinking”. But Elijah, you say, BTL is 13c and you were in a coma six weeks ago. Whatever, dude, I’m cranking it. I did not crank it, actually. I didn’t crank it because I didn’t get on it. Chips shut me down before I got that far. We call this “Tuesday thinking” because this is the kind of delirium one may suffer on a Tuesday prior to a Saturday at the Tor. On Tuesday, one may feel mega-strong and ready to crank basically everything at Santa Maria. By Saturday, reality sets in. The Tor is still the Tor and you are still getting murdered. It’s cool though, just getting on Chips was good for me. And I feel really good about my pace of recovery, especially considering my previous two Saturdays. Intensity is important. I went hard on Chips, fell reaching to the crux pinch, and was so spent couldn’t get on for a second go. So, I got on Power again and fell trying to clip the chains. Two rad falls, by the way. Maybe it was the heat or maybe I just did too much but I got light headed. If I stood up too fast I would get super dizzy, almost pitching off a rock near the belay once when my vision turned black. That’s when I knew to take my harness off and be done for the day. Sorry, Dr. Ungerer.

Mary working Power of Eating (5.11d) – She’s close to a redpoint.

Sal on Power – This is Sal’s first trip to the Tor. Obviously, he will be climbing here, and only here, from now on. One of us, one of us, one of us…

These are the new starting moves to Chips Ahoy (5.12d) – They’re rad. Dare I say, there is now more to love about this already bodacious route.